Bad Pool Header, Driver IRQL Not Less Or Equal, Random crashes

New Member

Please look at post #5 for full details (CPUZ Screens, RAMMon, and more minidumps)

Hi all,

My PC has been randomly crashing, and usually it's about 2 or 3 weeks between crashes so I've never really looked into it. But now it is happening much more frequently especially after I've installed a Battlefield Bad Company 2 which is notorious for crashes. But again, the crashes have been happening way before I ever tried installing the game, which leads me to think there is a deeper issue.

I'm really at a loss, I've updated all the drivers I know of and can't seem to pin point the problem.

New Member

Thanks saltgrass, i'll give that a try. That utility doesn't usually start unless I've started it manually, and I've been experiencing the crashes even when it is off. Nevertheless i'll try to find a newer version.

New Member

A Mix of Crashes: Driver IRQL Not Less or Equal, Bad Pool Header/Caller, System Service Exception

Hi all,

My PC has been randomly crashing and each time the message on the blue screen is different. Usually it's about 2 or 3 weeks between crashes so I've never really looked into it. But now it is happening much more frequently irrespective of what I am doing, which leads me to think there is a deeper issue.

I'm really at a loss, I've updated all the drivers I know of and can't seem to pin point the problem.

I just had another BSOD crash after a reboot, opened up chrome, started a flash video. The message at the top read: MEMORY MANAGEMENT.

I also updated my motherboard BIOS as well today hoping it would fix something.

New Member

Wow cybercore, thank you! I made the changes to the ram and so far so good, programs that usually crash are now fine it seems. All my bios settings were set to Auto, so it confuses me as to why the they were overclocked. One question, is MSE, Microsoft Security Essentials? Thanks again.

Extraordinary Member

To answer for Cybercore, if I may, yes it is. That with a weekly scan of Malwarebytes' Free. after you've updated its database should cover your security needs. AVG is well known for causng BSOD's on many Windows 7 systems. If this includes you, then:
Download the correct AVG Remover for your system (32 or 64 bit).
If you have AVG ID protection installed, download the AVGID Protection Remover from the above link as well (it wouldn't hurt to download and run it anyway). Download Microsoft Security Essentials as AVG's replacement. Re-boot to Safe Mode. In Safe Mode run the AVG Removal tools. Re-boot to normal mode and install MSE. Make sure your Windows firewall is enabled!

New Member

Wow cybercore, thank you! I made the changes to the ram and so far so good, programs that usually crash are now fine it seems. All my bios settings were set to Auto, so it confuses me as to why the they were overclocked. One question, is MSE, Microsoft Security Essentials? Thanks again.

New Member

cybercore, Elmer, thanks for such clear and concise instructions and help.

I have one last question which might be a little outside the scope of the thread but is RAM related. Before I bought the current RAM I'm using now I had a set of 4x1gb Crucial Ballistix PC8500 1066Mhz (serial: BL12864AA1065.16FD5), google tells me the stock timings are 5-5-5-15 at 2.2V. If i stick 2 sticks of Crucial RAM in with my Gskill RAM and kept the timings for the Gskill pair would it cause problems? If so is there any way to get them to work together or is it better to just leave them separate?

New Member

Not necessarily but quite possible that it will cause blue screens. It may work well but as a simple rule it is recommended to buy ram kit of identical sticks. So if you pair different brands and it gives you blue screens -- you know why. You may wanna try though.